Crossed Wires
by xXBalorBabeXx
Summary: You can try to start over... move somewhere else, change your life... and that's what they're trying to do. But there's always part of your past that comes back.
1. Chapter 1

23 year old Gionna and 31 year old Claude bolted upright after hearing gunshots, Gionna getting up and looking out the window.

"Are the Cubans and Haitians fighting again?" Claude asks sleepily, rubbing his hands over his face.

"Those aren't gang members." Gionna says, grabbing the remote and turning the Tv on, despite it being 4:30 in the morning.

"... in breaking news, the bank in the downtown area has been robbed by three assailants. No identification of what they look like has been brought to our attention yet and $400,000 has been stolen from the VCPD's retirement fund…" The news reporter says, Gionna shutting the Tv off.

"Some psychos ripped off the bank? And I thought we could completely escape this crazy life." Claude says.

"You're not the only one who thought that." Gionna says, her phone ringing and her answering it. "Good morning, Johnny. Why are you up this early?" She says.

"Watching the news, the Vice City bank got jacked! Are you pulling scores?!" Johnny says.

"Not after the last time, Packie didn't forgive me for him getting shot back in 96 during that bank robbery." Gionna says, hearing a knock at the door.

"If it's that senile lady, tell her to get lost!" Claude says as Zero, a teenager who had been crashing with him and Gionna, sleepily walks to the door to answer it.

Zero opened the door… only to jump back when Marcus and Fredric were thrown into the house as one man aimed a shotgun at the strawberry blonde and another helped his injured friend into the apartment.

"No sudden moves, okay? Just need to get him patched up." The blonde man says.

"And what's in it for us if we help?" Zero asks, folding her arms across her chest.

"Us? T, check the other rooms!" The dark haired man says, the third one doing so… but was knocked down when Gionna slammed a tire iron into his head. Zero used the opportunity to snatch the gun from the blonde man and smash it into the side of his head.

"You got any duct tape Gionna?" Zero asks.

"It's in the garage. Fredric, Marcus, you two alive?" Gionna says.

"Yeah, we're good." Marcus says, him and Fredric grabbing a couple chairs while Zero went and got the duct tape.

"You, sit your ass down!" Gionna demands, the untied robber sitting down as the others tied up the other two.

"What are you-" The man starts to ask, pulling his mask off and Gionna blinking in shock.

"Holy fuck… where was I? Right." Gionna says, grabbing a set of pliers and digging the bullet out of Michael's leg, Michael forcing himself not to scream. "Toughen up, fucker." She says.

Midnight, meanwhile, walked into the apartment… and was a bit taken aback to see two men tied back to back in chairs.

"Oh hey Midnight. We have two guests here at the moment." Zero says.

"Make that three… and it sounds like Gionna's torturing the one that got shot!" Marcus says, hearing Michael screaming in pain.

"He just needs to man up." Zero says, as she heard the blonde man groan. Zero walking over and slapping him hard across the face. "Wakie, wakie. Duct tape and chair." She says.

"Yeah, don't tell her anything, Brad!" The second man said through the duct tape… Midnight yanking his mask off. "M?" He says.

"T?" Midnight asks.

"Midnight… you know these guys?" Zero asks.

"One of them… my little brother." Midnight says as Gionna walks over to them, Claude having cuffed Michael to the couch.

"The same brother who ran off and left you in LC back in 1985 before he returned _twice_ and caused chaos?!" Gionna yells, unable to contain her rage and walked over, hitting Trevor across the face with the tire iron.

"Yeah the one and only." Midnight says.

"Didn't anyone ever tell you to not hit someone when they're tied up?!" Trevor yells.

"Someone should've taught you to not abandon family." Gionna says, Midnight knowing that it bothered Gionna that Toni went into hiding for four years… and in those years, Gionna became closer to Billy… and then their friendship fell apart completely.

"You, stop staring at her!" Zero says, slapping Brad.

"Ow! Why can't I?!" Brad yells.

"Because I said so and if people don't listen to me-" Zero says before whispering the last part to Brad "-they end up dead."

Gionna had a feeling it was gonna be one of _those_ days… one that despite years of trying to, she couldn't escape.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Songs listened to during this chapter.**

 **Something To Remind You by Staind (In my opinion, it fit the reflective parts of the story)**

 **Gone by Daughtry**

 **Wanted Dead Or Alive by Chris Daughtry**

' _Of course it's raining…'_ Gionna thought as she and Claude kept an eye on Michael, Trevor and Brad, the rain outside leaving different sized trails of water on the windows.

Days that started out like this made her remember the storms that happened in Liberty City, especially the one with the tornado that nearly killed her… she was so distracted that she didn't noticed Fredric walk over to her until he handed her a cup of espresso with Bailey's non alcoholic Irish creme flavoured creamer and two spoons of sugar in it.

"Thanks, Fredric… talk about a chaotic start to the day, huh?" Gionna says, sipping the coffee.

"Can one of you fucking untie us?!" Trevor yells, Gionna handing a tire iron to Zero.

"Hit him right between his legs." Gionna whispers, Zero smirking and walking over to Trevor.

"Fuck you, you need to be fucking tied to the-" Trevor starts to shout, screaming in agony after Zero hit him.

"It slipped." Zero says.

"Bullshit! I need that part of me, kid!" Trevor yells.

"After what you did back in 2001, we're doing the whole world a favour!" Gionna says.

"Told ya that would come back to bite ya, asshole! Why do you think I reluctantly agreed to keep robbing banks with you?!" Michael says angrily.

"Shut up, Michael!" Trevor snapped irritably.

"I'm sorry, step back here? I'm a bit confused." Zero says.

"He tried to kill one of my friends and the reason? She kept the child they created and he fucking went berserk." Gionna says, Zero turning enraged and slamming the tire iron in between Trevor's legs again.

"STOP DOING THAT!" Trevor yells.

"Oh you want me to hit a different place?!" Zero demands before hitting Trevor across the face with the tire iron. "How did you like that one?!" She yells.

Deciding to get some fresh air after finishing her coffee, Gionna walked outside and let the rain hit her face as she closed her eyes… only to scream after feeling a hand on her right arm and slam her fist into the person's face.

"Ow, fuck!" Chris yells, Gionna opening her eyes.

"Damn, so sorry Chris. You're fresh out of rehab and I punch you in the face, I'm a terrible friend." Gionna says after resetting Chris's nose.

"I shouldn't have scared you... I don't know why Marcus let me out, I don't think I'm ready to be out in the world." Chris says.

"Baby steps, Chris. It just takes time." Gionna says, Chris seeing the tiredness and stress in her eyes and turning worried. "You won't believe it but we've got three bank robbers tied up in the living room. Well, two tied up and one cuffed to the couch." She says, Chris chuckling until Gionna led him into the apartment.

"Hey, pal! Do us a favour and talk the tiny bitch into untying us?!" Trevor says.

"You got any drugs on you man?" Chris asks.

"Fuck that, you're staying sober." Gionna says, Chris lightly pulling on a lock of her hair.

"Oh okay. He looked like a drug dealer to me." Chris says.

"He probably is." Gionna says, lightly rubbing her right hip as the rainy weather made it ache and Chris remembering her telling him what caused her hip injury… before turning and punching Michael.

"Ow! The hell did you do that for?!" Michael yells.

"That's for your crazy wife pushing her out a window!" Chris yells.

"You fucking told him?!" Michael asks after looking at Gionna.

"I was damn drunk that night that I did, a lot of us were." Gionna says as Midnight walks back in.

"I'm going crazy here! Untie me!" Brad yells.

"Trust me, you don't want me untying you." Midnight says, Gionna going to get ready for her day after helping Chris with his still bleeding nose.

Gionna was still cautious about living here, she had a feeling that one of them would find her… whether it was Joey, who was revenge crazy for the death of his father, or Billy, who was still angry at Gionna for what he perceived leaving Liberty City as leaving him behind.

She had followed Johnny's advice to leave… he was right, every time she looked at an alleyway, she saw the one she was attacked in and every time she saw a hotel window, she remembered being pushed out it and crashing onto that Infernus.

It had been two years since she and Claude left… they settled into Vice City life, Gionna continued stripping and found the _Pole Position Club_ a hell of a lot easier to work at than the _Triangle Club_ while Claude worked with the Vercetti mob.

Vice City had its share of maniacs though… and the young couple knew that too well.

Reaching her destination, Gionna opened the door to the apartment in Downtown and was immediately greeted by hugs from 4 year old Camari and 23 year old Juana.

"Camari, go find Granddad, okay?" Juana asks after seeing the look on Gionna's face, Camari doing so and going to find Forest. "He's here, isn't he?" She asks quietly.

"Tied up in the apartment but yeah… he showed up earlier." Gionna says.

 **A while later, Trevor's P.O.V**

"So she asked you to help out in raising Camari… and you only thought of yourself instead." Midnight says after I explained everything that happened from the time Juana got pregnant to when I went and tried to kill her.

"She kept that fucking mistake, I… I gave her a choice-" I say angrily, Midnight punching me.

"Yeah and she risked her life to protect her daughter like any parent would! You're only a parent in a biological sense, you're not fit to be around children!" Midnight yells.

"How… fucking dare you be pissed at me?! I'm not the one who fucked up, I was trying to correct a mistake!" I shout.

Before any of us could speak again, the door opens and I see Juana's father Forest Martinez… and he looks like he wants to snap my neck for even going near Juana, like any father would to protect their daughter.

Like I would to protect Ashley except she isn't my child, she's Brad's… and the bastard has no clue.

"Well, Trevor Philips… hello again." Forest says, closing the door and locking it.

This… this really is a fucked up day.


	3. Chapter 3

"You just couldn't stay out of it, could you?!" Trevor yells at Forest, who punched him in the face immediately afterwards.

"Says the psycho who tried to kill my daughter, who wanted my granddaughter gone and who left an innocent woman to bleed out on the windshield of a car?! You fucked things up yourself, Trevor, no one else fucked it up!" Forest says, shouting halfway through.

" _I_ fucked things up?!" Trevor yells ragefully.

"Yeah. You don't even take any responsibility for your actions, just shove it off on someone else!" Claude says, Trevor glaring at him.

"What about your little slut, huh?! Does she ever take any responsibility for what she's done, tough guy?!" Trevor asks angrily, the door opening and Gionna walking in.

"I've owned up to what I've done but what I've done has been out of defense, you intentionally blew up Juana's car and oh, it didn't end there! You wanted her dead because she kept _her_ daughter! The daughter you ran out on, like the fucking deadbeat dad you are… sad thing is that you'll never realise that you're the one who causes all this hell until it's too late." Gionna says, closing and locking the door and Trevor turning enraged at what she said, enraged that she was being defiant and mouthing off.

"Closing the door, you little bitch?! You have no idea who the fuck you're talking to and even less what I can and WILL do!" Trevor yells.

"I could easily throw you and your fucked up pals to the cops outside, you three did just rob the Vice City bank after all." Gionna says casually.

"Shut it, T! You don't want to leave little Ash without a parent, right?! I don't want to leave my kiddos without a dad!" Michael growls, Trevor growling in anger.

"Oh, stop it, already. What are you part canine or something?" Gionna says sarcastically, Michael motioning to her and her walking over to him. "How the hell did you get involved in this business and find a deranged loon like him?" She asks.

"I wish I hadn't… it's been nothing but 24/7 insanity since then." Michael says.

"24/7 insanity is something I've known my entire life, Michael." Gionna says.

"It wasn't always like that with me and Trevor… back at the start, it was just two pals and a hacker pulling some jobs, making some numbers and having some fun. It was after one particular job that things changed… he let the money get to his head, started seeing some things as inferior, next thing you know, it's that guy." Michael says.

"The guy who feels like it's his way or the highway… the one who decides that when a maniac attacks you at knifepoint that it's your own fault…" Gionna says, Michael seeing the scar on her neck clearer than he did the night they were together. "Instead of being a normal kid, I was hanging out with a bunch of lunatics whose vices were either drugs, weapons or a cheap fuck… and I got sucked into that life for some time. Well, the weapons part anyway… I never abused any drugs." She says, Trevor rolling his eyes at that last part.

"Well, you never got pulled into cheap fucking either… I mean, sure you were a stripper and you did sleep with people but you never actually slept with someone for money, did you?" Michael says.

"Never for money. Would never go near that kind of trade, it sucks the life out of you and destroys your humanity." Gionna says, Trevor letting out a cackle. "Well, someone's clearly destroyed his own humanity a long time ago if he ever had any to begin with!" She says, Trevor startled at that.

"Who are you to question my humanity?!" Trevor asks.

"Just last week, you hit Jimmy because he was standing up for his sisters! A grown ass man punching a 10 year old is pathetic!" Michael says.

"Why don't you try disciplining your damn kids then, Michael?! I got hit a lot as a child and I turned out alright!" Trevor yells.

"Bullshit! Any adult who hits a child is a fucking piece of garbage!" Gionna says, Trevor taken aback by her attitude.

"What, don't like how she sees things or how she grew up in a different time than you or me? She's right, any parent who abuses or abandons their kid isn't fit to be a parent at all!" Midnight says, Trevor trying to headbutt her but screamed in pain after Gionna slammed the tire iron on the back of his neck.

"Are you stupid or fucked up on something?! Never try to hit anyone when someone else has a weapon, Trevor!" Brad yells.

"She just tried to break my neck!" Trevor shouts.

"Next time, I'll shove this bad boy so far up your ass that your tonsils will be playing shadow puppets!" Gionna says in a disturbingly calm tone.

"Hey, can you try to calm your daughter down?" Brad asks Forest, thinking that Forest and Gionna were father and daughter.

"Biologically, she's not my kid but I do think of her as family." Forest says.

Walking back into the living room, Gionna picked up a picture and looked at it… Michael looked at it too, seeing that the young Gionna in the photo and the man in it shared the same eyes.

"Been 15 years since I lost him… despite what he did for a living, my dad always put his family first." Gionna says, setting the photo down. "What about your dad?" She asks after sitting next to Michael.

"Depends what you mean by 'lost'. If you mean he's dead, yes… but there wasn't much to lose about it. He was… abusive. Very, to me and my mother and in the end, I…" Michael says, stopping but Gionna made a close observation… his right hand, after he stopped, closed halfway, with his index finger slightly further out than his other three and his thumb bent… just like how someone holds a gun, finger on the trigger.

"You must've been a kid then… everyone has a breaking point, Michael." Gionna says quietly, Michael seeing a knife scar on the palm of Gionna's right hand that was about as aged as the one on her neck. "There's a reason I don't use knives too often anymore…" She says, thinking back.

 _ **4/1/93, Alderney…**_

" _Hands off me, Crazy Colin." Gionna says, Colin Thorpe not backing off in his intoxicated state and pulling a knife on the tiny 13 year old after grabbing her by her shirt._

 _Seeing the man who attacked her instead of the man who was her friend, Gionna grabbed the knife by its blade and punched Colin with her left hand before grabbing the knife and stabbing Colin with it repeatedly until Johnny pulled her away._

" _Get off of me, damn it! Let me go!" Gionna screams, reliving that night and trying to get away from Johnny._

" _Give me a hand here, M?!" Johnny asks after seeing Midnight, who ran over to them and forced Gionna to drop the knife._

" _The hell happened?! Why did she stab him?!" Midnight asks, helping Colin up and applying pressure to the wounds._

" _She's fucking deranged, that's why!" Colin yells, Johnny glaring at him and punching him._

" _She's deranged?! You're the one who pulled a knife out and threatened her, you drugged up idiot!" Johnny shouts, Midnight grabbing a washcloth and tying it around Gionna's injured hand._

" _I was joking around, I wouldn't hurt her!" Colin says._

" _You consider pulling a knife on me as joking around, you lunatic?! Get off the damn drugs, Colin!" Gionna shouts before storming off._

 _She needed time to calm her nerves… and being around Colin wasn't helping matters._


	4. Chapter 4

**Present time…**

"Forced him to dry out… he stayed sober for a time. But I didn't go near him for a while after that." Gionna says, handing Michael some Tylenol that she found. "Sorry, I don't keep strong meds around." She says as he swallowed the two pills.

"That's alright, I remember what you said about your allergies." Michael says.

"I wish I didn't have those allergies… medicine is supposed to help people, not try to kill them." Gionna says, the house phone ringing and her picking it up and taking it outside. "Hey, second time you've called today. Ignore the shouting you hear, it's just that damn lunatic." She says to Johnny, who heard Trevor shouting at Gionna.

"Are you trying to get us all put in a jail cell, T?! You do and the next time you see Ashley, she'll be an adult with no use for you in her life!" Michael shouts.

"Do I even need to ask?" Johnny says.

"That bank robbery you saw on the news… the trio showed up here and Trevor to take us hostage but… well, turned it around on him." Gionna says before seeing her young neighbor trying to climb the fence. "I'll call you back." She says, hanging up and setting the phone down before running to 7 year old K8lynn. "Playing hide and seek, K8?" She asks, picking K8lynn up into her arms… but like Camari, K8lynn could see that Gionna was having a crazy day.

"Are you alright?" K8lynn asks.

"Yeah, just… just don't get involved with anyone crazy, okay?" Gionna says, K8lynn covering her ears as Trevor's yelling continued until he was hit with the tire iron again. "He's just being loud, kiddo." She says, taking K8lynn to the small house nearby and knocking on the door.

"Daddy!" K8lynn says after Matt opened the door, the tiny child jumping into her father's arms and Matt seeing the twinge of sadness in Gionna's eyes as the young woman was remembering what it was like before losing her dad.

"You okay?" Matt asks, Gionna nodding and leaving.

"Daddy, why did she look so sad?" K8lynn asks.

"Remember me saying how Mommy was in heaven and not on Earth? Her daddy is in heaven too and she misses him." Matt says.

"Will she see him again one day?" K8lynn asks after they walk into the house and Matt closed the door.

"One day, kiddo." Matt says.

Meanwhile near the beach, Gionna sat down on a lounge chair and looked out at the stormy skies… she wasn't paying attention until she felt a hand on her right shoulder and looked up, seeing Claude.

"Are they driving you crazy too?" Gionna asks, blinking her tears away as Claude sat down next to her.

 **Meanwhile…**

"How do we get out of here? I don't think we're getting out of this one, you deranged fuckball." Brad says.

"That little road whore has to return eventually." Trevor growls, Midnight punching him.

"I did some stripping at one point, to help you, me and Ryan have money! Does that make me a road whore too, you heartless fucker?!" Midnight yells.

"You never went and fucked your viewers though, did you?! At least you stuck to the pole, that bitch was on two kinds of poles, the dance pole and the bed poles!" Trevor shouts.

" _One_ time! That was it, let it go and move on!" Michael shouts.

"Once a hooker, always a hooker, Michael! Always, there's always gonna be a part of her that would revert to it if she had to!" Trevor says, discretely freeing his hands and legs.

"Still got that weakness for hookers, T?" Brad says, Trevor turning incensed.

"Don't you dare go dragging Claire into this!" Trevor shouts.

"Why, because it was only one time?!" Michael asks sarcastically.

"Because she's an honest lady! Sure, it's a fucked up job she's in but at least she's completely honest about it, she's a roadside whore who lives in a place that's 50% cardboard because that's the best life she can make for herself right now! She doesn't sugar coat it, hide it, she states it as it is, how it is! Certain _other_ people aren't so nice though, are they?!" Trevor shouts.

"Life for that little girl wasn't and hasn't been so nice! Scarred up, snatched innocence, she had to toughen up and stay that way to get by! People mistake niceness for weakness and you're clearly one who does!" Forest says, yelling halfway through.

"I COULDN'T GIVE A FUCK ABOUT ANY OF THAT!" Trevor yells, loud enough that Claude and Gionna heard him on the beach. "Forget it, I'm done. Out, fucking off." He says before leaving, closing the front door behind him.

On his way after leaving the house, in front of the neighbouring one, he collided with a young woman, mid to late teenager in age.

"WATCH WHERE THE FUCK YOU'RE GOING!" Trevor yells, instantly earning himself a hard slap. That dazed him for a few seconds and the next thing he knew, electrical shocks were rocking through him from the girl's taser as she screamed at him in a foreign language.

"Why don't _you_ watch where you're going?" She yells.

"Yep… sure… whatever you say." Trevor manages to say between deep breaths as the wind had been knocked out of him.

"Good, now go, across the bridge!" The woman shouts, pointing to the bridge that left Starfish Island, which Trevor got up and started limping towards.

"Fucked up bitches." Trevor mutters before seeing Gionna and Claude and walking over to them. "There's a mini version of you that tased me!" He says.

"Rightly deserved but that's not your opinion, is it?" Gionna says.

"Surely the slap she gave first was enough on it's own!" Trevor says.

"You said you were fucking off, well go on ahead!" Claude says, Trevor leaving.

"Holy hell… this is not how I saw our day going." Gionna says, resting her head against Claude's right shoulder as he wrapped an arm around her back.

Stopping near a payphone, Trevor put a quarter in and called Lester.

"How did it go?" Lester asks.

"Great… until we tried to hide out on Starfish Island and…" Trevor says.

"What did you do now?" Lester asks reluctantly.

"Took refuge in the wrong whore's apartment and then got beat up, escaped, slapped and then tased by a bitch!" Trevor says.

"Is every woman you meet automatically a whore or bitch in your eyes?! And where are the others, did you abandon them, you fucking deranged asshole?!" Lester yells angrily, pissing Trevor off.

"The others are all getting along snug with them! And if people don't respect me then yes, they are automatically bitches and whores!" Trevor shouts.

"Trevor, you need anger management or shock therapy! Something!" Lester says, Trevor screaming and throwing the phone…

12 year old Angeline screamed in pain as the phone hit her nose and right eye, Trevor stepping back.

"Is everyone in this part of the city crazy?!" The ravenette yelled, Trevor trying to calm her down.

"Sorry, kid." Trevor says.

"Oh, you're gonna be sorry, you damn idiot!" Angeline says, Trevor screaming in pain as Angeline's small right foot collided with his crotch before she walked off.

"Trevor, who was that shouting?!" Lester asks once Trevor had the phone in his hand again.

"Some… tiny bitch who kicked my nuts because I _accidentally_ hit her with the phone." Trevor says.

"You're getting hell from all directions today." Lester says before they hang up.

Back at the Vercetti mansion, Angeline stopped when she saw someone.

"Hey, Marzia." Angeline says, having met Marzia a week ago. Marzia turned, her eyes widening when she saw the blood and bruises.

"What the hell happened?!" Marzia asks, her accent making it impossible not to tell she was Italian, as usual.

"Lunatic threw a payphone at me so I went and kicked him where it hurts." Angeline says, cringing when Marzia reset her nose.

"I think that counts as assault, you know." Marzia says, worrying Angeline for a few seconds. That was, until Marzia patted Angeline's right shoulder with an approving smile.

"That's minimum unless my dad finds…" Angeline says, stopping when Tommy ran over to her. "Hi, Dad." She says, Tommy grabbing a washcloth and holding it to Angeline's still bleeding nose.

"Marzia, did she say who did this?" Tommy asks.

"A random guy in the street who earnt the name 'lunatic' from her was all she said." Marzia says.

"Dark brown hair, brown eyes… scars and needle marks on his arms." Angeline says as Tommy helped her into the white Infernus. "Hospital?" She says.

"Yep, kiddo. Marzia, does he sound familiar to you?" Tommy says.

"He must have anger problems or something, we accidentally collided in the street earlier and he went off at me like I'd slept with his friend or something… ended up shocking him." Marzia says, demonstrating by sparking her taser for a second.

Angeline laughed slightly, the sparks making her smile innocently.


	5. Chapter 5

**A few hours later…**

"Oh, there you are. You two alright?" Brad says as Gionna and Claude walk in, Gionna untying Brad and helping him stand up.

"Yeah… sorry for leaving you tied up for so long." Gionna says as Claude uncuffed Michael.

"We heard him shouting from the beach and then from what he said, he crashed into a woman and she gave him hell." Claude says, Michael laughing as Gionna saw Marcus asleep on the floor and Forest trying to wake him up.

"Did he take something?" Gionna asks, walking over and helping Forest help Marcus up before she lightly slapped Marcus and woke him up. "Wakey wakey, you damn fool!" She says.

"Damn, Gigi. You need a new attitude." Marcus says, Forest and Gionna dropping him on the other couch as Claude opened the door and let Juana and Camari in… but before he could close the door, Marzia showed up and walked in.

"Uh… hello there." Claude says before closing the door, Gionna turning around and recognising the young woman.

"Marzia?" Gionna says, Marzia looking at her and despite the scar, she recognised the small brunette and the two hugged.

"I'm surprised you remember me, all I did was sell you some fruits in Rome 8 years ago." Marzia says.

"Memory works in different ways… and I liked being there in Rome, sure as hell beat being in LC." Gionna says as they let go, Marzia remembering how cold it was that day and having seen Gionna wearing a scarf.

"Nowhere near LC cold, from what I've heard. Did you do what I said though, visit the famous arena?" Marzia says.

"Yep and I still have pictures from that trip." Gionna says, retrieving a photo album from a filing cabinet and opening it, Marzia seeing the pictures of Gionna, Florence and Florence's brothers in law, Fredo and Carlo… and then there was one of Gionna and Dominic kissing under a tree, Marzia smiling.

"How is he nowadays?" Marzia asks… before seeing the sadness in Gionna's eyes.

"Back in September of 97… Billy stabbed Dominic to death and then threw him in the Humboldt River." Gionna says, Marzia blinking in shock.

 _ **9/15/97…**_

" _Uh…" Ray Machowski says, Francis turning and seeing Gionna get off of her PCJ 600 before she ran towards the river, Francis stopping her._

" _Let me go, damn it! Let me help him!" Gionna screamed as tears streamed down her face, Francis trying to calm her down._

" _Gionna, there's nothing you can do, come on now!" Francis says, Gionna not stopping. "GIONNA! He's been stabbed about 20 times and he's been in that river, tied to a block for at least half an hour, he's long gone!" He shouts, holding Gionna tightly to keep her still._

 _The screams that followed made Francis pull her into a hug as she cried into his shoulder, a blue and white Hexer stopping nearby and Johnny getting off and running to them._

" _Tell Billy that he's gonna be burning in hell for what he's done." Gionna says after looking at Johnny… before snatching the Glock 22 from Francis's holster and trying to leave, Francis and Johnny stopping her._

" _I don't know if you're about to kill Billy or kill yourself but either way, it ain't gonna do nothing good!" Johnny says, lightly pulling on the gun until Gionna released her grip on it._

" _If he went and killed the love of your life, you'd go off and kill him too!" Gionna yells._

" _I know I would, but that's because like you, I'd be blinded by emotions! And just like you would, I'd go and do it and afterwards, everything would collapse on me and I'd regret killing him, not for the revenge but for the hell it would cause afterwards." Johnny says._

" _Can I go say goodbye to him, Francis?" Gionna asks as she looked at Dominic, who if not for the wounds, chains, cement blocks and water, would've looked like he was just sleeping._

" _I shouldn't let you but… CSI haven't come yet so try not to touch him." Francis says._

 _Gionna nodded and walked over to Dominic's body, crouching down and reciting a prayer in Italian as Johnny found a nearby payphone and dialed Billy's number after putting a quarter in the slot._

" _Hey, John boy! You're missing a hell of a party!" Billy says, obviously drunk and high._

" _Bill, press record so you can listen back when you're sober and can remember things!... I don't even need to ask if you did it because I know you did, and you know what I'm talking about. And pretty soon, so will everyone else… it'll be a test of true loyalty when the word is out so I'd start packing, pal! Because you might want to consider changing continents once Gionna and everyone close to her finds you!" Johnny says, shouting at first and again at the end before hanging up, not having anything else to say to Billy at the moment._

 _When the CSI showed up, Johnny helped Gionna walk towards a bench and helped her sit down, Gionna having gone quiet and Johnny knowing she was shutting herself off mentally. Something else he noticed was that her rosary beads were gone and he looked back, seeing them wrapped around Dominic's left hand._

" _I know that you… you don't like letting anything out until you're alone,_ _but… just remember that… I'm here if you ever need me, for anything." Johnny says._

" _Someone… needs to let Franco know what happened… can you take me there please?" Gionna says._

" _You don't have to do anything right away, they give you a 3 day space." Johnny says._

" _Someone has to… tell him that his_ _son is gone. I don't want him finding_ _out on the news." Gionna says,_ _Johnny helping her up and the two_ _leaving._

 **Present time…**

"Thanks…" Gionna says after Marzia handed her a tissue, Gionna brushing her tears away.

"It could have been worse though, at least you were surrounded by people who cared about you." Marzia says.

"I wasn't myself for a long time…" Gionna says before glancing at Michael and seeing him with tears on his face. "I didn't mean to make you cry." She says, Michael brushing his tears away.

"Love snatched away brutally is just… damn, I think Billy and Trevor would get along like brothers." Michael says, Gionna nodding.

"Them and my father." Marzia says.

"I still can't believe what he did that day… or how I reacted. Whenever I see a child being slapped, I just…" Gionna says, Marzia remembering the reaction from her father after he was slapped three times by Gionna and the third slap was hard enough to break the man's jaw.

"What exactly happened?" Michael asks.

"He got real angry and slapped me around in public after I only managed to make 30 Euros on the fruit stand, which had to sustain for the whole family because the lazy git refused to work himself." Marzia says.

"And that made me temporarily lose my mind." Gionna says.

 _ **11/21/95, Rome…**_

 _The second Dominic saw the look in Gionna's eyes, he knew that what they had seen had made her lose it. Before he could stop her, Gionna charged over and slapped the man who was attacking Marzia._

" _Leave her the fuck alone!" Gionna yells, Marzia running to Dominic and grabbing onto him._

" _He's gonna hurt her!" Marzia screams, Dominic trying to calm her down as two more hard slaps followed, a sickening crack echoing and the man falling to his knees and trying to scream but couldn't open his mouth._

" _Are you okay, little one?" Gionna asks after walking to Marzia and Dominic._

" _My head hurts." Marzia says in Italian, the 10 year old's father having slapped her repeatedly around her face and cheeks, a ringing noise in her right ear being the result of one of them._

 _At a nearby urgent care clinic, Gionna and Dominic waited while Marzia was being examined by a doctor and Dominic rested his hand on Gionna's back._

" _No parent should ever hurt their child… I really hope she's going to be okay." Gionna says as she leaned against Dominic._

" _I understand the occasional slap on the wrist for the shock factor when they've done something wrong but not like that, that's a whole new level of wrong." Dominic says._

" _People like that have no business being parents." Gionna says before seeing a woman who resembled Marzia run over to them. "In that room… she's still being attended to by the doctor." She says, the woman grateful that the two found Marzia and brought her here._

" _I speak little English but… thank you for helping Marzia." The woman says._

" _You're welcome." Gionna says in Italian, the woman running to Marzia and hugging her._

" _Mommy! Two nice people helped me!" Marzia says, being picked up into her mother's arms._

 _Watching it unfold, the young couple hoped that one day, they'd be good parents._


	6. Chapter 6

**Present time…**

"Better now?" Claude asks after Gionna finished eating three slices of pepperoni pizza.

"I really shouldn't skip eating…" Gionna says, seeing Michael outside on the patio with Marzia.

"Ludendorff? You're a long way from home." Marzia says.

"It's closer than you are to yours, what brings you so far from your home?" Michael says.

"It's… my father again. He… went too far." Marzia says, a saddened and scarred look appearing on her face.

Thinking the worst, Michael started muttering threats, Marzia managing to calm him down.

"He didn't rape me, I got away before he could even look at me… though I'm not sure whether that or what he really did is worse, I think I… I would've pre… preferred it." Marzia says, Michael knowing that it was hard for Marzia to say that and he understood why, she'd just said that rape wouldn't have been as bad to her as what her father did, pretty much also saying that she'd change it if she could.

"Then… what did he do?" Michael manages to ask.

"He… killed them. My mom, my sister, my baby brother… he tore them apart, gouged their eyes out, cut off my brother's hands, MY BROTHER WAS ONLY A YEAR OLD!" Marzia manages to say, suddenly screaming at the end.

Gionna closed her eyes, feeling like she was going to be sick after hearing that and couldn't get the image of Marzia's mother and siblings being violently murdered out of her head.

"I… I found out when I came home… he had them tied up by the wall and I saw my… my sister was just gone, she was in pieces all over the room. My mom… her eye sockets were just empty, her eyes were on the floor and I saw him with my brother… I screamed and he saw me and ran after me, I ended up losing him by taking to the rooftops… as soon as I could, I looked for someone or some way to get away from Rome… that was 4 months ago." Marzia says, having partially composed herself but she was still shaking and the rage, trauma and heartbreak was still as clear as daylight on her face.

Later that night when everyone had settled down into some rooms, Gionna was awake and looking out the window at the rain. Feeling an arm wrap around her, she turned to face Claude, who knew that Gionna was having trouble sleeping.

"I hope they catch him… and kill him." Gionna says, Claude seeing anger in Gionna's eyes.

"Just worry about the catch, he'd go straight to the noose." Claude says.

"He would… and I know what you're going to say next but I'm not sure I can sleep." Gionna says, resting her head on Claude's left shoulder which triggered a dull ache in her right hip.

"What you're is worried you'll have a nightmare about it, so… why don't we try reading something before we go to sleep, hey? Change the thing of the mind?" Claude says.

Gionna nodded and reached back, finding a travel guide she bought recently as Claude turned the lamp on and Gionna opened the book, flipping to the section about Greece.

"Maybe after all of this is settled, we could get out of the country for a while…" Gionna says. "I remember once when I was about 5 that me and my family went to Colombia… I never wanted that summer to end, it was one of the rare times that there wasn't anyone calling my dad or brother for business reasons." She says, flipping the pages back until she reached a section about Fiji.

Out in the Malibu Club, Trevor saw someone who looked familiar to him and stormed over… until Mikey glanced at him.

"Something wrong, mister?" Mikey asks, still in his corporal uniform.

"Uh… mistook you for someone else, my bad… thank you for your service! Keep on… servicing." Trevor says.

"As much as I love my career, it's great being back in America… I just got here to visit an old friend." Mikey says.

"Yeah… worked that out, Klebitz. You're here to see Gionna." Trevor says.

"Did you run into her earlier?!" Mikey asks, a bit startled.

"Did I ever… but it wouldn't be the first time. We're old and… not very happy acquaintances." Trevor says.

"If she has any injuries from you-" Mikey starts to threaten.

"Hey, calm down, mr rank and camouflage, I didn't hurt her, all there was was a lot of yelling and a touch of threatening, that's it!" Trevor says.

Mikey finished the last of his beer, Trevor seeing that he was still angry.

"We don't get along because of things that happened years ago and if everyone could just move on from it and all live in peace, I'd gladly go with it. Things just… never seem to work like that." Trevor says.

"I've known her since she was a newborn and I've sworn to myself that if anyone threatened her verbally or physically-" Mikey says, smashing the beer bottle against Trevor's head before knocking Trevor out. "-that they'd be in for pain!" He shouts before leaving.

When the sun started rising, Mikey showed up at the apartment and Claude let him in and saw the bandages on Mikey's right hand.

"What the hell did you do?" Claude asks.

"Smashed a beer bottle against a lunatic's head." Mikey says before noticing Marzia, Michael and Brad asleep in the living room. "Who are the other three?" He asks.

"Two are associates of the loon and the kid is an old friend." Claude says, Mikey nodding and going to check on Gionna… when he walked into the room, he could see it in her expression.

Gionna was clinging onto a pillow like a child trapped in a nightmare, her right arm over her face as if she was shielding herself from attack. When Mikey walked over and sat down, he placed his hands on her shoulders and she flinched and backed away, her eyes still closed as Mikey saw Marzia walk in.

"What happened last night? She's shaking like a scared kid!" Mikey whispers.

"I let a secret out that I've been holding onto… my mom and siblings were violently murdered and when I explained who did it… it was like she was trying to block out the horrific nature of it or flashing back to something equally as traumatizing. She never explained why she has..." Marzia says, pointing to the scar on Gionna's neck.

"That was about 10 years ago… and she didn't sleep through the night for a long time after that." Mikey says, noticing that Gionna had settled back into a deep sleep.

 **Meanwhile…**

Trevor jumped back as the white Infernus screeched to a stop nearby and Tommy got out, grabbed Trevor and pinned him against the hood of the car.

"You like beating up little girls, you prick?! That girl you attacked is my daughter and now she's got a broken nose and eye socket!" Tommy growls.

"Hey, I just got out of the hospital and it was an accident, mister! Is she okay?!" Trevor yells.

"She didn't sleep for most of the night!" Tommy shouts, slamming his fist into Trevor's nose and right eye socket. "How would you feel if someone attacked your kid if you had one?! Do you even have kids?!" He demands.

"You think I'm that heartless?!" Trevor yells.

"You attacked my 12 year old, who was just walking around enjoying her day!" Tommy yells, bashing Trevor's head against the windshield.

"Why weren't you keeping your eyes on your kid, huh?! Something else catch your attention or do you not give a fuck what your _precious_ baby girl is getting up to?!" Trevor asks, yelling halfway through.

Tommy rendered Trevor unconscious after that and left him there.

At the same time, Angeline was sneaking out of her room and her and Jax hugged… but then the 19 year old noticed the black eye that she had.

"Angel, what happened?!" Jax asks.

"Just some guy being an asshole." Angeline says as they let go.

But Jax knew his young friend better than that… he could always tell when she was holding back on something.


End file.
